Austin Street Center, a nonprofit that moves 400 homeless adults into permanent housing annually and serves thousands more with temporary shelter, commemorates its 40th anniversary in October with a fundraising luncheon featuring Condoleeza Rice in conversation with former Ambassador Jeanne Phillips.
“I don’t know how anyone could not want to hear Condoleeza Rice,” says Austin Street CEO Daniel Roby. “She is so accomplished — not only a former secretary of state but a classical pianist, part owner of the Broncos, Stanford professor — it just goes on and on.”
The annual Humble Beginnings Luncheon, set for Oct. 27 at the Hilton Anatole, is the organization’s largest fundraiser. It will honor longtime supporters Nancy Best and Southern Methodist University.
Best, a 30-year advocate and former board chair, was instrumental in helping the agency secure the funding and design of the new headquarters that opened in June 2022. At 60,000 square feet, the Austin Street Center for Community Engagement is twice the size of the former facility and houses 430 beds plus myriad services. “It really is about trying to transition people into a permanent place to call home,” Roby says.
Nurses who served during the height of the pandemic, PhDs and a pastor with a master’s degree in divinity are among those who have reached out to Austin Street Center for help, which assisted 2,053 clients last year. “We serve people who have been homeless for years, people who never believed they would be in that situation, and people who don’t have addiction and mental health issues,” Roby says. “It really runs the gamut in terms of people’s backgrounds.”
He has a formula for homelessness: Poverty or financial need plus a crisis of some kind — such as addiction, mental health problems, a hurricane, the loss of a loved one, divorce — minus adequate social support. “It’s people who lose a job and are struggling with other issues and are in a world where it’s not easy to afford a place for $1,000 a month,” Roby says. “Thirty percent have addiction and 45% have a mental health diagnosis, but most people who come in don’t know where they are going to go and we get them back on track. They have to remain inspired that something else is possible.”
The expansion enabled Austin Street Center to become the first shelter in North Texas with an on-site medical clinic to treat physical and mental-health needs, including diagnoses and prescriptions. This is critical in part because it enables homeless people to receive ongoing care after they have been released from a hospital. “We’ve saved upwards of a million dollars of expenses as a result of caring for people better because individuals are not going back to the hospital,” Roby points out.
Austin Street has added about 35 more staff for a total of 80 and works closely with dozens of strategic partners, including Texas Health Resources, Parkland Health & Hospital System and the Department of Veterans Affairs. Its services start with basic needs and extend to employment services, substance abuse treatment, benefits navigation, transportation and more.
“There are a lot of barriers to overcome when someone moves out of here,” Roby says. Despite that, 85% of Austin Street clients who move into permanent housing stay there.
SMU will be recognized at the luncheon for providing a variety of support and engagement. “They are trying to shape world changers, and Austin Street is one of the organizations that benefits from their leadership in our community,” Roby says.
The university has facilitated internships and student and faculty volunteers on a regular basis for decades, including athletic coaches. In addition, professors bring in their classes as they study homelessness and faith. “[Clients] are starting from nothing, so there is a lot of hand-holding that needs to happen to navigate not only our resources but [also] those throughout the community,” Roby says. “There is really a shared value of empowerment with SMU.”
Ashlee and Chris Kleinert serve as luncheon chairs and Lynn McBee is honorary chair. For sponsorships or tickets, which start at $150, contact Jennifer Atchison at jennifer.atchison@austinstreet.org or (469) 729-0711 or visit https://austinstreet.org/humblebeginnings.